Reddit | markpitts

24 Close Calls That Could Have Turned Out Much, Much Worse

There's a building near our office that's been covered in scaffolding for years. More than once, I've nearly been hit by giant chunks of ice falling from it in the winter. I've started crossing the street to avoid it.

Usually, there's someone nearby that shares a nervous "OMG, that was close" laugh, but never has there been a camera present.

1. Baseball. A classic game with peanuts, Cracker Jack, and random projectiles. 

Reddit | The_Fool-On-The_Hill

This probably happened so quickly that the kid barely registered what happened.

I'm sure the woman in front ducked on instinct, but imagine how she'd felt if the kid got hurt.

2. Do you think they let the person at the tee have a mulligan? 

Reddit | theotherguy1981

According to the user, they were driving down the cart path when a nearby tee off hooked towards the path. It hit the passenger's beer can while he was drinking it.

3. Those are some high quality flip-flops. 

Instagram | @kristen_g525

The user stepped straight down onto a board with four screws, but they didn't make it through the sole. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they weren't actually wearing the flip-flops while DIYing.

4. Um...maybe the barrier next to a cliff should be a wee bit taller?

Reddit | atrais

Just a thought? In this case, it seems that it was still — just barely — enough, catching the rear tire before the car toppled down the side.

5. Always wear safety glasses!

Reddit | austaul

Images like this should be posted up in all places where safety lenses are required.

And to those guys who let the glasses slide down their nose while they look over the top: You're going to feel extra dumb when you lose an eye.

6. These coins saved a life during World War I.

Reddit | Fadawah

The user's great-grandfather was shot right in the chest by a German soldier, but the coins were in his breast pocket.

7. In a similar vein, this user's great-grandfather had a picture of his girl in his pocket. 

Reddit | chikinboi

This one happened in Normandy during World War II. The wallet was in the soldier's backpack when it was shot.

8. Great reflexes, but super, duper dumb.

If you're going to do tricks on your skateboard, don't use railings that lead right into the street. And make sure you actually look before you go.

9. This caused a debate on whether to wear gloves while working in a metal shop.

Reddit | My_kielbasa_sausage

There are good arguments on both sides: The gloves can protect your hands, but could also affect your dexterity or get caught in machines, causing worse harm.

10. Maybe the driver thought the Jeep could just drive over the tree.

Reddit | nomdeweb

Looks like he hit it at just the right angle for it to barely miss some important body parts. Eek!

11. Don't go sledding towards a road!

No matter how great the hill is, it's not worth dying. From what I can tell, it doesn't seem like the person could have even checked for traffic past the trees before going.

12. This hit a little too close to home for me.

Imgur | nae6

In a house with all hardwood and dogs who regularly steal slippers, I pretty much live barefoot. Now I'm rethinking that habit...

13. Shark: "Omnomnom?"Diver: "Nopenopenope!"

Maybe the shark wasn't going to chomp right down, but would you want to risk it? I'm not really that scared of sharks, but this is too much for me.

14. This is why I'm always nervous driving behind trucks full of tools. 

Imgur | Bigfloppy

Tools should be locked in a proper, heavy case during transport. Axes shouldn't be flying around the truck bed! Axes really shouldn't be flying into the windshield of the car behind you!

15. This is a piece of steel from a highway lawnmower. 

Reddit | Reddit

While driving past the mower on the highway, the driver of this Mustang was shocked to have a piece of the mower blade fly through her windshield and embed itself in her backseat. Luckily, she wasn't hurt.

16. This could have been a whole lot worse. 

Reddit | markpitts

Thankfully, this Indiana Jones-quality boulder only knocked down a small part of this Italian home. Hopefully it was just a shed or garage.

17. No, no, no, no...phew!

I'd like to think that the table is low enough that a fall wouldn't cause too much damage to the phone, but you never know. Good job, kitty!

18. Ever since I watched Home Alone as a kid, I've been unable to handle this sort of thing.

Reddit | Reddit

I can watch a whole horror movie without blinking, but when it looks like someone is about to step on a nail, I just have to shut my eyes.

19. Well...damn. 

Reddit | Praetor80

It is SUPER unlucky that in the rare case of a mortar falling out of the sky, it happened to hit this person's car. But it's also SUPER DUPER lucky that the thing didn't explode on impact.

20. How's this for luck?

Imgur | jacklebee

After heavy winds in Chicago, this car was barely missed by a falling tree. Judging by the amount of rot on that trunk, the tree wasn't long for this world anyway.

21. Thank God this happened in Australia!

Imgur | nicholasagream

Had this been a car in a country with the driver on the left, he wouldn't have been as lucky as he was. It was close, but he was unharmed.

22. Those guardrails were a lifesaver.

Reddit | BigByrdd

A mudslide might have pushed the truck and driver right into the Pacific Ocean, but not only did the guardrails catch them, they were built well enough to not give way from the impact.

23. And THIS is why I'm always nervous driving behind transport trucks.

Reddit | skloonatic

The likelihood that they're carrying a bunch of fluffy pillows is pretty much nil.

This looks straight out of Final Destination.

24. This cell phone saved a person's leg from a chainsaw. 

Reddit | WarlockRock11

The image was posted by the repair technician, who was told that the owner slipped while using a small chainsaw in a tree. They were able to repair it.

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